Letters to the editor for Saturday, December 29, 2012

Published: Saturday, December 29, 2012 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 28, 2012 at 6:02 p.m.

Look at positive safety measures

Fighting about gun control, and whether to have armed guards, doesn't make our children safe. Criminals can steal guns or make them.

These tragedies are happening more frequently — they are not isolated incidents. All schools should have an armed, trained officer of some nature (or a retired armed volunteer veteran) to patrol the entrance/exit of school campuses. Nothing else can stop a shooter. The places where people are carrying guns, such as police departments and federal buildings, are more secure than our schools.

The system being considered by Flagler County schools is one great idea: Monitoring their schools online, with a uniform color-coded system. Green is OK, yellow means threat beyond the school, and red means no one allowed on campus and deputies have been dispatched. They are also considering having everybody enter and exit through just one area to limit access.

My ideas are: Panic buttons for faculty and staff to wear, which could simultaneously call 911 and broadcast a prerecorded emergency message, such as "dangerous person on campus, take shelter."

The shelter could be a bulletproof supply closet in every classroom, large enough to hold the entire class. The students could have routine shelter safety drills. Also, razor-wire fences (like they use in the military, that overhang so they can't be jumped over with a ladder) could surround schools and keep people out, except at the entrance/exit of the school. These would have to be carefully considered to prevent fire hazards.

For the faculty and staff, emergency shooter-defense safety drills could entail some self-defense techniques, in the event they find themselves trying to seize a weapon and detain an attacker until police arrive.

What simple luxuries would parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles be willing to give up to help fund the necessary security measures to keep our precious children safe?

CHRISTINA RABREN

Port Orange

Is Wayne LaPierre wrong?

I am 92 years old and I spent 20 years in the military during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. I have been around guns all of my life, starting with a Daisy BB gun at age 10. I know something about guns; they don't belong around mentally sick people, children, or crooks.

We can do something about all of the above. Lock guns away from children, put crooks in jail for a good stretch, and detect the mentally ill and treat them.

If you take guns away from the people, crooks will still have guns. The rest will resort to bombs, machetes, and other weapons — if they are going to do something, they will find a way. Until we solve the real problem, National Rifle Association President Wayne LaPierre is right.

From the best information I could find, there are over 1 million assault-type rifles in the U.S., but only three were used in the past mass murder cases — other types of weapons were used. Does this tell you where the problem really lies? Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer would do well to try and get at the real problem — sick people — and work with the leaders in their continuance to constantly keep pressure on the real problem — not just pass another law and go on feeling that they had done something. Don't down the man who knows more about gun culture than anyone in the U.S., ask for his help and sound advice and the problem may be abated.

No person of intelligence is going to try to disarm a deranged person firing a gun unless he has a gun. The best salvation is good guys with guns at the scene before it happens; their presence alone is a deterrent.

KEN TORBETT

Palm Coast

Editor's note: Estimates of the number of mass-shooting incidents in which "assault weapons" or "assault-type weapons" were used vary among different groups.

Don't stall action on guns

The News-Journal's Sunday editorial was a predictable response to the Newtown tragedy. Stating that a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity ammo clips wouldn't prevent a determined killer is just more of the delusional National Rifle Association rhetoric, cemented with your only suggestion to "look more deeply into the darkness of human nature." Really, is that all you've got to offer?

And how could new gun-control legislation be considered a "rush to do something?" It's not like we haven't had these same conversations after all the previous massacres; apparently you wish to employ the same successful tactic of the NRA to delay and obstruct any meaningful action until some new issue distracts America's attention.

STEPHEN T. SMITH

Palm Coast

Societal issues lead to violence

It's not gun control, it's government controlling citizens.

After the latest tragedy by a deranged individual, there will be a call for gun control laws by the left (Democrats). They falsely state that denying 90 million law-abiding legal gun owners their Second Amendment right to own guns would solve the problem of mass killings. So, because of a handful of deranged individuals who have committed mass murders, we must punish 90 million law-abiding responsible gun owners?

I believe the true reason for gun control is to make slaves of the people so government officials can rule without any fear of reprisals for the daily crimes they commit against the people. You lose your guns, you lose your freedom. The Second Amendment was given to us to protect us from a tyrannical government like we now have.

How about focusing on the individuals who commit these crimes? What mindset can shoot small children multiple times, or blow the heads off of their classmates and laugh about it? We have been a gun-carrying nation since day one. There was never a problem until the video games came out, glorifying killing as many people as possible.

This is a training ground for mass killers, not entertainment. The movies also glorify killing. We should outlaw violent video games and movies. They serve no good purpose. The goal is to kill as many people as possible; they covet a high body count. We must take an inward look at ourselves. Where have our moral values gone, and why are we so intent on kicking God out of our lives and country? The biggest problem this country has is there is no fear of the Lord.

<p class="bold allcaps">Look at positive safety measures</p>
<p>Fighting about gun control, and whether to have armed guards, doesn't make our children safe. Criminals can steal guns or make them. </p><p>These tragedies are happening more frequently &mdash; they are not isolated incidents. All schools should have an armed, trained officer of some nature (or a retired armed volunteer veteran) to patrol the entrance/exit of school campuses. Nothing else can stop a shooter. The places where people are carrying guns, such as police departments and federal buildings, are more secure than our schools. </p><p>The system being considered by Flagler County schools is one great idea: Monitoring their schools online, with a uniform color-coded system. Green is OK, yellow means threat beyond the school, and red means no one allowed on campus and deputies have been dispatched. They are also considering having everybody enter and exit through just one area to limit access. </p><p>My ideas are: Panic buttons for faculty and staff to wear, which could simultaneously call 911 and broadcast a prerecorded emergency message, such as "dangerous person on campus, take shelter." </p><p>The shelter could be a bulletproof supply closet in every classroom, large enough to hold the entire class. The students could have routine shelter safety drills. Also, razor-wire fences (like they use in the military, that overhang so they can't be jumped over with a ladder) could surround schools and keep people out, except at the entrance/exit of the school. These would have to be carefully considered to prevent fire hazards. </p><p>For the faculty and staff, emergency shooter-defense safety drills could entail some self-defense techniques, in the event they find themselves trying to seize a weapon and detain an attacker until police arrive. </p><p>What simple luxuries would parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles be willing to give up to help fund the necessary security measures to keep our precious children safe?</p><p><b>CHRISTINA RABREN</p><p>Port Orange</p><p></b></p><h3>Is Wayne LaPierre wrong?</h3>
<p>I am 92 years old and I spent 20 years in the military during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. I have been around guns all of my life, starting with a Daisy BB gun at age 10. I know something about guns; they don't belong around mentally sick people, children, or crooks. </p><p>We can do something about all of the above. Lock guns away from children, put crooks in jail for a good stretch, and detect the mentally ill and treat them. </p><p>If you take guns away from the people, crooks will still have guns. The rest will resort to bombs, machetes, and other weapons &mdash; if they are going to do something, they will find a way. Until we solve the real problem, National Rifle Association President Wayne LaPierre is right. </p><p>From the best information I could find, there are over 1 million assault-type rifles in the U.S., but only three were used in the past mass murder cases &mdash; other types of weapons were used. Does this tell you where the problem really lies? Senators Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer would do well to try and get at the real problem &mdash; sick people &mdash; and work with the leaders in their continuance to constantly keep pressure on the real problem &mdash; not just pass another law and go on feeling that they had done something. Don't down the man who knows more about gun culture than anyone in the U.S., ask for his help and sound advice and the problem may be abated. </p><p>No person of intelligence is going to try to disarm a deranged person firing a gun unless he has a gun. The best salvation is good guys with guns at the scene before it happens; their presence alone is a deterrent.</p><p><b>KEN TORBETT</p><p>Palm Coast</p><p></b></p><p><i>Editor's note: Estimates of the number of mass-shooting incidents in which "assault weapons" or "assault-type weapons" were used vary among different groups.</i></p><h3>Don't stall action on guns</h3>
<p>The News-Journal's Sunday editorial was a predictable response to the Newtown tragedy. Stating that a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity ammo clips wouldn't prevent a determined killer is just more of the delusional National Rifle Association rhetoric, cemented with your only suggestion to "look more deeply into the darkness of human nature." Really, is that all you've got to offer? </p><p>And how could new gun-control legislation be considered a "rush to do something?" It's not like we haven't had these same conversations after all the previous massacres; apparently you wish to employ the same successful tactic of the NRA to delay and obstruct any meaningful action until some new issue distracts America's attention.</p><p><b>STEPHEN T. SMITH</p><p>Palm Coast</p><p></b></p><h3>Societal issues lead to violence</h3>
<p>It's not gun control, it's government controlling citizens. </p><p>After the latest tragedy by a deranged individual, there will be a call for gun control laws by the left (Democrats). They falsely state that denying 90 million law-abiding legal gun owners their Second Amendment right to own guns would solve the problem of mass killings. So, because of a handful of deranged individuals who have committed mass murders, we must punish 90 million law-abiding responsible gun owners? </p><p>I believe the true reason for gun control is to make slaves of the people so government officials can rule without any fear of reprisals for the daily crimes they commit against the people. You lose your guns, you lose your freedom. The Second Amendment was given to us to protect us from a tyrannical government like we now have. </p><p>How about focusing on the individuals who commit these crimes? What mindset can shoot small children multiple times, or blow the heads off of their classmates and laugh about it? We have been a gun-carrying nation since day one. There was never a problem until the video games came out, glorifying killing as many people as possible. </p><p>This is a training ground for mass killers, not entertainment. The movies also glorify killing. We should outlaw violent video games and movies. They serve no good purpose. The goal is to kill as many people as possible; they covet a high body count. We must take an inward look at ourselves. Where have our moral values gone, and why are we so intent on kicking God out of our lives and country? The biggest problem this country has is there is no fear of the Lord.</p><p><b>JAMES MEANS</p><p>South Daytona</p><p></b></p>